Suzgo Khunga – The Nation Onlinehttp://mwnation.com
Top Malawi Breaking News HeadlinesMon, 19 Mar 2018 14:24:15 +0000en-UShourly1https://wordpress.org/?v=4.9.4MCP not inspiring confidencehttp://mwnation.com/mcp-not-inspiring-confidence/
http://mwnation.com/mcp-not-inspiring-confidence/#respondSat, 17 Mar 2018 02:55:15 +0000http://mwnation.com/?p=230686 If there was a time for the opposition Malawi Congress Party (MCP) to pull out all the stops and step forward as the best option for governing this country, it is now. Unfortunately, there is very little chance of MCP to clean up its dented image and usurp the position that the Democratic Progressive…

If there was a time for the opposition Malawi Congress Party (MCP) to pull out all the stops and step forward as the best option for governing this country, it is now.

Unfortunately, there is very little chance of MCP to clean up its dented image and usurp the position that the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) held not long ago, that of a clueless political party lacking direction.

Not to say all is rosy in the DPP, far from it: DPP is after all the party that cannot decide who its runningmate will be, even when it is clear that it will not be the incumbent Vice-President Saulos Chilima.

As it stands, MCP is winning the unpopularity contest by far and seems to be the only party in the running. Fresh from the blunder of accepting a share of the dubiously sourced and distributed K4 billion, the party just could not let that issue rest.

Look, all MCP had to do was have one stand on the K4 billion gift and stick to it, whether they came under attack from whichever quarter. If the party believed the money would benefit their constituencies, then well and good.

The leader, Lazarus Chakwera made it clear that much as they had accepted the money would be spent, he still wanted the events leading to the disclosure of this funding investigated by the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB).

One would think this was a clear stand communicated by the president of the party with endorsements from the National Executive Committee (NEC) but that was clearly not the case.

The MCP MPs must have been shocked, however, when the acting secretary general Eisenhower Mkaka told the media that MCP would not be accepting the K4 billion after all.

If indeed the K4 billion was contained in the allocation for the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development, it was up to those leaders in Parliament to school their colleagues outside that this could not reversed.

At least not without tabling a repeal or amendment Bill to the Appropriation Act which MCP MPs themselves contributed in passing to authorise the Minister of Finance to spend.

Why is it that it was only Mkaka who realised that the K4 billion payout was embroiled in dishonesty and thievery, not the MPs who approved its expenditure?

What is MCP telling its supporters and potential voters about their ability to make decisions and stick to them?

In all this, the leadership of Chakwera is nowhere to be seen or felt. There is more time being spent attending dinners organised by an aspiring vice-president than removing the confusion that rocks the party.

MCP does not seem like a political party on the cusp of victory as predicted by some survey or other. It is a party that is unravelling at the seams aided by some shortsighted individuals lacking ambition.

It is been said here and it will now be reiterated: The best thing that can happen in MCP right now is for a national convention to happen as soon as yesterday. With an injunction hanging over its head and a few weeks to go to the planned event, that seems too much to hope for.

MCP seems to hellbent on squandering the perceived good they have had recently, buoyed by DPP, which in itself is the best option for Malawi.

Not to be a prophet of doom but this MCP does not inspire confidence as a party that is capable of governing come May 2019. This habit of flip flopping and verbally attacking any individual that criticises its actions is not what Malawians want for a ruling political party.

]]>http://mwnation.com/mcp-not-inspiring-confidence/feed/0GMT graduates 54 women entrepreneurshttp://mwnation.com/gmt-graduates-54-women-entrepreneurs/
http://mwnation.com/gmt-graduates-54-women-entrepreneurs/#respondFri, 16 Mar 2018 05:30:43 +0000http://mwnation.com/?p=230606 The Graca Machel Trust (GMT) has graduated about 54 women entrepreneurs from a 10-month Women Creating Wealth (WCW) programme that seeks to identify and build capacity for women to grow and lead more prosperous businesses. The women are all business owners in the sectors of agriculture, education and manufacturing and were provided with a…

The Graca Machel Trust (GMT) has graduated about 54 women entrepreneurs from a 10-month Women Creating Wealth (WCW) programme that seeks to identify and build capacity for women to grow and lead more prosperous businesses.

The women are all business owners in the sectors of agriculture, education and manufacturing and were provided with a coach to inspire them to their vision and master valuable entrepreneurial competencies to take their business to the next level.

GMT official Korkor Cudjoe (L) poses with WCM graduand Triza Magreta

Speaking at the graduation on Wednesday, GMT founder Graca Machel observed that the women entrepreneurs had transformed through WCW.

She said the increasing number of women taking part in the mentorship programme was proof that African women were taking the driving seat.

“I encourage you to look ahead and not allow anyone to intimidate you in claiming and exercising the capacity of African women to transform the lives of people on the continent. I will leave Malawi much more inspired that it is good to dream when we have such brilliant women who can fulfil those dreams,” said Machel.

The graduation included a pitch competition by four graduates before a panel of four judges including director of microfinance institution Wealthnet, Nicholson Kumwenda.

The winner was Fannie Gondwe, an entrepreneur who multiplies and distributes vines of orange fleshed sweet potatoes and counts the government and non-governmental organisations among her clients.

WCW was first launched in Malawi in 2016 with an enrolment of 37 women from which 33 graduated after the completion of the programme.

The number of women entrepreneurs grew to 57 in the second class of 2017 from which 54 have graduated.

]]>http://mwnation.com/gmt-graduates-54-women-entrepreneurs/feed/0Commentators hail Blue Night case ruling as progressivehttp://mwnation.com/commentators-hail-blue-night-case-ruling-progressive/
http://mwnation.com/commentators-hail-blue-night-case-ruling-progressive/#commentsThu, 15 Mar 2018 09:38:10 +0000http://mwnation.com/?p=230471 Legal and governance commentators have described as progressive a court ruling that civil society organisations (CSOs) have interest in legally challenging the abuse of public resources and demanding accountability from the government and the governing party. Their reactions follow a High Court judgement in Zomba on Tuesday that four CSOs—Centre for Human Rights and…

Legal and governance commentators have described as progressive a court ruling that civil society organisations (CSOs) have interest in legally challenging the abuse of public resources and demanding accountability from the government and the governing party.

Their reactions follow a High Court judgement in Zomba on Tuesday that four CSOs—Centre for Human Rights and Rehabilitation (CHRR), Youth and Society (YAS), Centre for the Development of People (Cedep) and Church and Society of the Synod of Livingstonia—have sufficient interest to demand the repayment of K13.5 million which some parastatals donated to a fundraising initiative of the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) dubbed Blue Night on July 29 last year.

Some of the defence lawyers leave the court in Zomba after the ruling

In its reaction, the Malawi Law Society (MLS) said the issue of interested parties, or locus standi, on judicial appeals against the government have been a problem in the past.

“But from the perspective that the court has allowed CSOs to question what government officials are doing, we can say the ruling is progressive,” MLS president Mwiza Nkhata said in an interview.

He said that locus standi on matters of human rights and governance, interested parties were a diverse lot and such a group could not be limited.

Said Nkhata: “In that perspective, we can say that the ruling by the court seems to be progressive, but that is subject to me reading what the court has actually said.”

Commenting on the mediation that the court has ordered, Nkhata, who is an associate professor of law at the University of Malawi’s Chancellor College in Zomba, said this was mandatory under the Civil Procedure Rules and a case can only go to trial when mediation fails.

Mustafa Hussein, a political analyst based at Chancellor College, said the ruling would empower CSOs and citizens to challenge the abuse of public resources by the governing party and by extension the government.

He said: “This ruling underlines the belief that power lies with Malawians and given a credible and active judiciary, Malawians should not relax but point out lack of accountability by public bodies.”

Hussein said further action by citizens should be taken on use of parastatal resources such as vehicles for political party rallies donations towards party campaign materials as well as the abuse of State broadcaster Malawi Broadcasting Corporation.

“Malawians should not relent, but be vigilant and seek interventions of the courts on such matters,” he said.

At its 5+1 All-Inclusive Stakeholders Conference held last year, Public Affairs Committee also touched on holding accountable public officers and institutions through practical interventions.

]]>http://mwnation.com/commentators-hail-blue-night-case-ruling-progressive/feed/1MGDS III implementation to cost K8.6 trillionhttp://mwnation.com/mgds-iii-implementation-cost-k8-6-trillion/
http://mwnation.com/mgds-iii-implementation-cost-k8-6-trillion/#commentsTue, 13 Mar 2018 08:21:14 +0000http://mwnation.com/?p=230239Implementation of the Third Malawi Growth and Development Strategy (MGDS III) is expected to cost about K8.6 trillion, including several flagship projects which the government and development partners expect to spur economic growth and reduce poverty. President Peter Mutharika is due to launch the strategy at Kamuzu Palace in Lilongwe this morning, 18 months after…

]]>Implementation of the Third Malawi Growth and Development Strategy (MGDS III) is expected to cost about K8.6 trillion, including several flagship projects which the government and development partners expect to spur economic growth and reduce poverty.

President Peter Mutharika is due to launch the strategy at Kamuzu Palace in Lilongwe this morning, 18 months after the expiry of the predecessor strategy, MGDS II which run from 2011 to 2016 and ended without achieving its intended objectives.

To launch the strategy: Mutharika

The ambitious five-year strategy includes flagship projects projected at about K3.5 trillion to scale up public investments in the key priority areas of Agriculture, Water Development and Climate Change Management, Education and Skills Development, Energy, Industry and Tourism Development, Transport and Information and Communications Technology (ICT) infrastructure, and Health and Population.

According to a copy of the MGDS III which The Nation has seen, the funding outlook for flagship projects is in addition to an estimate of K5.3 trillion which has been planned to be spent on key priority areas.

In agriculture, the identified projects include Shire Valley Transformation Programme and construction of a new water source from Likhubula River in Mulanje to Blantyre for the Blantyre Water Board; in education, they include construction of Mombera University in Mzimba and construction and refurbishment of science laboratories and libraries in community day secondary schools while in energy and industrial development it is the construction of a coal fired power plant at Kammwamba and the Songwe River Basin Development Programme.

In transport, the government has prioritised the expansion of Chileka and Kamuzu international airports as well as rehabilitation and expansion of the Limbe to Marka and Nkaya To Mchinji railway lines while in health, construction of new district hospitals and construction and upgrading of primary health care services will comprise the flagship projects.

Reads the strategy in part: “With the emergence of private sector investors in the major growth sectors such as energy, water and communications, government policy will be to promote financing of flagship projects through Public Private Partnership arrangements.”

But effective and successful implementation of the MGDS III will depend on aligning national budgets over the next five years to the strategy, a feat that was not achieved with the previous strategy.

According to the copy of the MGDS III, the strategy will be funded through multiple sources of domestic revenues, external grants and borrowing.

At a time when development partners are channelling a lot of funds off-budget, MGDS III aims to streamline development assistance depending on the volume of funding, experience and the partners flexibility to align to national priorities and use government preferred aid modalities among others.

“To reduce further fragmentation of assistance and overcrowding of development partners in some sectors, the government will define for each development partner core areas of support not exceeding three sectors,” the strategy reads.

Malawi Economic Justice Network (Mejn) has since commended the effort to cost the strategy as one way of giving it impetus and direction.

Mejn executive director Dalitso Kubalasa said there was a need to conduct a development finance assessment and mapping of various sources of financing for the strategy.

He said: “This is a step in the right direction. It is time that we moved away from being known as a country that is policy rich but implementation poor. We should learn from failings in the past MDGS and learn fast.”

Kubalasa also hoped that with MGDS III, issues of mutual accountability would take centre stage and not politicking.

Last year, Minister of Finance, Economic Planning and Development Goodall Gondwe stated that MGDS III would need a lot of resources with development partners coming in to supplement.

Initially, the minister had said MGDS would require at least K2.5 trillion to implement but rested his hope on development partners increasing their support.

However, MGDS III has not outlined the mapping of resources to be expected from which specific sources over the five year period.

]]>http://mwnation.com/mgds-iii-implementation-cost-k8-6-trillion/feed/1‘Defamation laws impeding investigative journalism’http://mwnation.com/defamation-laws-impeding-investigative-journalism/
http://mwnation.com/defamation-laws-impeding-investigative-journalism/#commentsSat, 10 Mar 2018 03:59:38 +0000http://mwnation.com/?p=230086Continued existence of criminal defamation and insult laws in some parts of Africa has contributed to decreasing levels of investigative journalism as whistleblowers and journalists fear arrests and persecution, Pen International has said. Pen International, an organisation which works to connect the international community of writers, is on a campaign lobbying African countries to decriminalise…

]]>Continued existence of criminal defamation and insult laws in some parts of Africa has contributed to decreasing levels of investigative journalism as whistleblowers and journalists fear arrests and persecution, Pen International has said.

Pen International, an organisation which works to connect the international community of writers, is on a campaign lobbying African countries to decriminalise criminal defamation and repeal insult laws.

The organisation held a meeting with the Justice and Human Rights Committee of the Pan African Parliament on Wednesday in South Africa where they presented an updated resolution based on the Midrand Declaration.

Although countries such as Malawi have enacted access to information (ATI) legislation, laws such as the Protected Names, Emblems and Flag and certain provisions of the Penal Code are used to intimidate and jail citizens for exercising their constitutional freedom of expression and freedom of the press.

In an interview,Pen International director of international programme Romana Cacchioli said criminal defamation and insult laws were holding investigative journalism back.

“The impacts of these laws are having a chilling effect in relation to investigative journalism in Africa, particularly where duty holders are being held to account.

“We are finding that investigative journalism is really being held back. The African public is not getting a full sense of the true facts of what is happening in their countries or the continent for that matter,” she said.

Ugandan Pen International president Danson Kahyana said civil means remained the best way of dealing with unprofessional conduct and abuse of freedom of expression.

He urged governments, through PAP, to help build more vibrant media councils and enact civil defamation laws through which challenges can be handled. n

]]>http://mwnation.com/defamation-laws-impeding-investigative-journalism/feed/1‘Soon’ is not what people want to hearhttp://mwnation.com/soon-not-people-want-hear-2/
http://mwnation.com/soon-not-people-want-hear-2/#respondSat, 10 Mar 2018 02:32:13 +0000http://mwnation.com/?p=230073It is that season again when politicians show the electorate that they can say anything, make any promise and it will be lapped up like porridge with a lot of sugar. It is the season for canvassing for votes, for promising positions in the government that do not exist and time is certainly ripe for…

]]>It is that season again when politicians show the electorate that they can say anything, make any promise and it will be lapped up like porridge with a lot of sugar.

It is the season for canvassing for votes, for promising positions in the government that do not exist and time is certainly ripe for the businessmen and women to buy contracts and tenders in the next government.

The past few democratic elections have shown this nation that politicians will say anything as long as it gets them votes, no matter how impractical.

Bakili Muluzi promised free education but forgot there was not enough teachers or classroom blocks. He left the scene with many still learning under the tree.

Bingu wa Mutharika came and promised irrigation schemes across the country and a mega project, the green belt initiative. As I write, the greenbelt initiative is still growing legs 14 years later.

President Peter Mutharika, set out to trounce every past president’s promises. His 2014 Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) manifesto reads like a dream, which is what it has turned out to be.

At a recent political rally in Lunzu, the people of Blantyre had the privilege of envisioning how changed their city and district will be in the foreseeable future.

In his usual not so audible manner, those who attended the rally or followed the live broadcast of the event on State-funded Malawi Broadcasting Corporation of Malawi (MBC) must have picked out the following developmental projects to come, as soon as December 2018.

Soon, there will be a state-of-the-art airport at Chileka to replace the joke of an international airport that is there now, something several successive governments have apparently failed to do, including the DPP in its seven years in power.

The people of Chileka, it seems, want an airport more than they want irrigation schemes, potable water and a health centre—where they will not die due to lack of personnel or required medical supplies and equipment.

Soon, there will be no more dusty roads in Blantyre. Woe to those who live in rural areas—let them deal with potholed roads and dilapidated bridges.

Apart from travelling on the 186-kilometre ring-road, people of Blantyre will also watch football matches at a brand new stadium, which will be similar to the one in Lilongwe, the Bingu National Stadium.

Finally, soon Blantyre will have a district hospital. This might sound like you have heard it all before and it is precisely right, because you have. The difference this time is that there is money available and APM will ‘soon’ lay the foundation stone for the project to start.

As you can see, the word ‘soon’ has been the litany of all governments that voters have given the duty to make people’s lives better.

It has been ‘soon’ there will be potable water, ‘soon’ children will no longer have to walk tens of kilometres to access basic education, ‘soon’ people will have money in their pockets and ‘soon’ hunger will be a thing of the past.

These ‘soons’ have come with a cost attached to it bearing monikers like ‘Cashgate’, ‘Maizegate’ ‘K187 million scam’, ‘Fieldyork scam’, ‘Mudzi Transformation Trust’. All in the name of securing votes.

With 19 months to the election and a high frequency in propaganda type programming on what should be a public broadcaster, MBC, not to mention the increasing number of purely political rallies and so-called whistle-stop tours, it is safe to assume that the campaign season is here.

With the campaign comes outlandish promises and blatant lies which Malawians should not for a second believe until they see.

]]>http://mwnation.com/soon-not-people-want-hear-2/feed/0PAP resolves to support AU anti-corruption drivehttp://mwnation.com/pap-resolves-support-au-anti-corruption-drive/
http://mwnation.com/pap-resolves-support-au-anti-corruption-drive/#respondThu, 08 Mar 2018 06:37:36 +0000http://mwnation.com/?p=229816The Pan African Parliament has resolved to support the African Union theme for 2018 to combat corruption on the continent through making special efforts to ensure universal ratification of various conventions as well as undertaking to examine and debate the model law on corruption by the end of 2018. The resolution has come at a…

]]>The Pan African Parliament has resolved to support the African Union theme for 2018 to combat corruption on the continent through making special efforts to ensure universal ratification of various conventions as well as undertaking to examine and debate the model law on corruption by the end of 2018.

The resolution has come at a time when the Corruption Perception Index for 2018 has shown a high corruption burden in sub-Saharan Africa with only Botswana and Mauritius the best in rooting the vice.

The workshop on Combating Corruption in Africa was held on Tuesday in Johannesburg, South Africa for the PAP Committee on Justice and Human Rights and organised by the AU organ, African Union Advisory Board on Corruption (AU-ABC) and the Multi-Sectoral Working Group (MSWG) comprising civil society organisations working in the fight against corruption.

The AU and the continent’s Regional Economic Communities have enacted continental and regional conventions to fight corruption among them the AU Convention on Preventing and Combating Corruption which only 37 member states out of 54 have ratified, including Malawi.

The low levels of domestication of the convention and low impact of anti-corruption bodies established in some African countries prompted the AU to declare 2018 as the year of Combating Corruption in Africa.

Opening the workshop, chairperson of the Committee on Justice and Human Rights Ignatienne Nyirarukundo said PAP was ready to participate in all efforts to fight corruption.

“We are united here to discuss how we can work together. As long as we have not won the battle against corruption, we cannot achieve Sustainable Development Goals and the Agenda 2063,” she said.

A member of the MSWG, Pan African Lawyers Association’s Donald Deya advised PAP to check whether their countries have an independent national anti-corruption agencies and a strong revenue institution.

“PAP must advocate for a protocol to enhance the jurisdiction of the African Court to assist in building the capacity of national courts to prosecute corruption,” Deya said.

The workshop also addressed issues of illicit financing flows in Africa, corruption in political circles as well as lack of political will in some governments to strengthen the capacity of anti-corruption bodies.

]]>http://mwnation.com/pap-resolves-support-au-anti-corruption-drive/feed/0MPs and their selfishnesshttp://mwnation.com/mps-and-their-selfishness/
http://mwnation.com/mps-and-their-selfishness/#respondFri, 02 Mar 2018 21:57:45 +0000http://mwnation.com/?p=229531 It is said that the Malawi Parliament has one of the highest turnover of members of Parliament (MPs) in this part of Africa at 75 percent, and if the actions of this week are anything to go by, the lawmakers have just given their constituents one more reason not to vote for them. The…

It is said that the Malawi Parliament has one of the highest turnover of members of Parliament (MPs) in this part of Africa at 75 percent, and if the actions of this week are anything to go by, the lawmakers have just given their constituents one more reason not to vote for them.

The noise that the opposition MPs made upon learning that their government colleagues received a K40 million bonus to their campaigns was commendable and there was applause all around.

Sadly, this applause was shortlived as the MPs entered into a deal with the devil, when the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) government had not given any explanation as to who made the ill-conceived decision to reward 86 MPs at the expense of others.

It has turned out that the opposition MPs had little interest in getting to the bottom of the scandal but to get in on the deal, in whatever way.

All the representatives that the opposition sent to the roundtable discussion could see was millions dangled before their eyes and they could not resist but to throw morals out of the window and partake in the loot that was about to be shared irregularly.

The opposition representatives came out of the meeting with milk scones stuffed onto their mouths and did not even have the guts to rise up and continue questioning what had a mere 24 hours ago sounded like an illegal act.

Assured that K20 million was coming their way to fatten up the campaign kitty, the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) made a blustering and unconvincing attempt at calling for further investigations into the source of the same money that they had accepted to spend in their constituencies.

The Minister of Local Government and Rural Development Kondwani Nankhumwa is not blameless in all this but the role that he played in identifying the 86 MPs had long been forgotten.

The MPs have not asked hard questions of Nankhumwa, how could they knowing the K20 million could be taken away just as quickly as it was given? Why have MPs not questioned why structures such as Village Development Committees (VDCs) were not used in identifying areas of development in the constituencies?

When did District Development Committees (DDCs) become irrelevant that the minister of Local Government resorts to making personal calls to MPs, who last time I checked do not head councils.

Finance Minister Goodall Gondwe could have done better. There are good reasons the office of Secretary to the Treasury and Budget Director exists and guiding the minister whose post is really political is their job.

How he has failed to explain where the funding for these constituency developments came from when in the past he has vehemently protected the Constituency Development Fund (CDF) against requests for obscene increases?

This is where the whole deal and so called benevolent action by the Ministers does not add up. Not at a time when other government departments have not been so lucky. Not when close to K1 billion has been trimmed from Malawi Electoral Commission (MEC) less than 15 months to the election.

If a whole Minister of Finance can tell the nation that the government has anonymous donors to its budget, what is to prevent State capture, if it has not already taken place that is?

Malawians who had expected these MPs to be noble and refuse this irregular manner of distributing development projects must feel betrayed and they have every right to be.

Those MPs who are trying to sound holier than thou after the fact but have made no attempts to refuse this handout are not innocent. The same paintbrush applies to them as long as they continue to make senseless justifications.

But in the end, all must forgotten and what voters must remember on Tuesday, 20 May is that given the choice between acting in the interests of their constituents and lining their pockets with ill-gotten money, MPs will choose to fatten themselves first.

]]>http://mwnation.com/mps-and-their-selfishness/feed/0‘Parties key to achieving 50-50’http://mwnation.com/parties-key-achieving-50-50/
http://mwnation.com/parties-key-achieving-50-50/#commentsWed, 28 Feb 2018 09:01:37 +0000http://mwnation.com/?p=229397 Norwegian Ambassador Kikkan Haugen has said political parties in the country hold the key to ensuring more women participation in politics and increasing the number of female members of Parliament (MPs) in 2019. He was speaking at a media interaction in Lilongwe on Monday where the Royal Norwegian Embassy, alongside the 50-50 Campaign Management…

Norwegian Ambassador Kikkan Haugen has said political parties in the country hold the key to ensuring more women participation in politics and increasing the number of female members of Parliament (MPs) in 2019.

He was speaking at a media interaction in Lilongwe on Monday where the Royal Norwegian Embassy, alongside the 50-50 Campaign Management Agency, a consortium of civil society organisations (CSOs) running the campaign, appealed to the media for support.

Haugen said Norway could not dictate how Malawi could ensure more women participate in politics but he was encouraged that there was ongoing debate on the proposal to reserve 28 district seats for women.

Haugen: Challenge political parties

“It is important that Malawi finds its own solutions. But there is a need to get political parties on the side of the women, challenge them to provide a conducive environment to women standing for elective office,” he said.

The 50-50 Campaign Management Agency comprises Centre for Civil Society Strengthening (CCSS) and Action Aid Malawi (AAM) who have come up with innovations to ensure more women win in the 2019 elections.

AAM executive director Grace Malera said the campaign was starting from the recognition that there have been efforts in the past to increase the number of women in Parliament.

“It is without question that women start out in politics at a disadvantage, but the 50-50 campaign is attempting to level the playing field. This will be done through the pillars of coordination through the Ministry of Gender, Children, Disability and Social Welfare, programming around the electoral cycle and challenging social cultural norms so that the transformative agenda is carried on through young women,” she said.

The campaign has since planned to create an incubator for women to express themselves as they aspire to enter political leadership as well as offering trainings for women aspirants to enhance their profiles, communicate better and advocate for more spaces in decision-making.

The 50-50 campaign is due to be launched on 6 April, 2018 and has received a K1.1 billion financial support from the Royal Norwegian Embassy.

]]>http://mwnation.com/parties-key-achieving-50-50/feed/1German envoy lauds cancer fight initiativehttp://mwnation.com/german-envoy-lauds-cancer-fight-initiative/
http://mwnation.com/german-envoy-lauds-cancer-fight-initiative/#commentsMon, 26 Feb 2018 09:29:41 +0000http://mwnation.com/?p=229157 The German Ambassador Jurgen Bosch has hailed an initiative to establish a wellness centre and a foundation which will spearhead the fight against cancer by providing information and services. The continuous awareness about cancer started on Saturday in Lilongwe during an aerobics event, Step Up for Cancer, held at Umodzi Park. The wellness centre…

The German Ambassador Jurgen Bosch has hailed an initiative to establish a wellness centre and a foundation which will spearhead the fight against cancer by providing information and services.

The continuous awareness about cancer started on Saturday in Lilongwe during an aerobics event, Step Up for Cancer, held at Umodzi Park.

The wellness centre and Hope for Cancer Foundation are initiatives of two-time breast cancer survivor and former Miss Malawi Blandina Khondowe.

Bosch (in blue top) and other participants during the aerobics

A few years ago, Khondowe started the Think Pink Malawi initiative to raise awareness about cancer whose activities were taking place in October every year.

Bosch hailed Khondowe for leading by example and showing that cancer could be beaten if people came together.

“This is a great initiative and it is even more commendable that from once a year, it has come to this. What we can learn today is that together we are unbeatable. There is hope for cancer and we have to fight it together,” he said.

On her part, Khondowe said after her second diagnosis and having to seek treatment outside Malawi for the second time, she decided to intensify the fight against cancer through the establishment of a wellness centre and the foundation.

“I had to seek treatment outside Malawi again after my re-diagnosis last year simply because some of the facilities were not available locally. It has been my dream to establish a wellness centre which will be a one -stop centre for the management of cancer as well as all those who would like assistance in good nutrition and fitness as one way of fighting cancer,” Khondowe said.

The initiative received a donation of K1 million from TNM towards the establishment of the wellness centre.

Step Up for Cancer will be a monthly initiative and the next one is slated for April 14 at the same venue.

Umodzi Park sales and marketing manager Temwa Kanjadza said the company decided to sponsor the event knowing that cancer is affecting so many sectors of the country.

“We would like to show that we are not just a business but we work with the community as well. We partnered with Hope for Cancer Foundation and we plan that this will be an ongoing event. The turn up shows that Malawians are becoming health conscious,” she said. n

]]>http://mwnation.com/german-envoy-lauds-cancer-fight-initiative/feed/1Parliament ignores Standing Ordershttp://mwnation.com/parliament-ignores-standing-orders/
http://mwnation.com/parliament-ignores-standing-orders/#commentsMon, 26 Feb 2018 09:17:51 +0000http://mwnation.com/?p=229137 A report on the revised Standing Orders outlining a motion to summon the President to Parliament has not been debated in the House since it was tabled in February last year. Delays to bring a report for debate has prompted the Legal Affairs Committee of the House to allege that the government fears that if…

A report on the revised Standing Orders outlining a motion to summon the President to Parliament has not been debated in the House since it was tabled in February last year.

Delays to bring a report for debate has prompted the Legal Affairs Committee of the House to allege that the government fears that if adopted, loopholes to summon the President to face members of Parliament (MPs) will have been sealed.

However, the government rubbished these claims and committed to put the matter on the table during the next meeting of Parliament.

MPs are seen in Parliament in this file photo

The report of the Legal Affairs Committee on Review of the Standing Orders tabled on February 9 2017 has been appearing on the Order Paper since last year.

Some MPs claimed the Standing Orders should be adopted by the next Parliament of 2019 to 2024 but the Legal Affairs Committee chairperson Maxwell Thyolera said there was an agreement between the two sides of the House that they should be tested during this Parliament.

“The Standing Orders that we are using now have a lot of challenges simply because they were not tested. We noticed cross-referencing problems which could have been detected early had that happened,” he said.

Thyolera said despite the one-year lapse, Parliament was committed to adopting the Standing Orders.

“We are banking on debate taking place in the June meeting then if adopted, they can be tested in the November meeting because it is unlikely the Mid-Year Budget Meeting will take place in February, 2019,” Thyolera said.

On his part, Leader of House Kondwani Nankhumwa ruled out debate on the Standing Orders taking place before Parliament rises next week Friday, citing a lot of business among them bills such as the Electoral Commission (amendment) Bill.

He said the government was expecting a brief on observations on the Standing Orders by the Minister of Justice and Constitutional Affairs before giving the report a day for debate.

“During the last meeting, it was not possible because there was no time and we had equally crucial business as the government. The report might be discussed during the budget meeting,” said Nankhumwa.

He said the government would welcome proposals to clearly state the circumstances under which the President would appear before Parliament.

Several administrations, especially the current Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), have shot down attempts to call President Peter Mutharika to adhere to sections 89 (4) and 89 (3) arguing that the questions to the ministers are sufficient.

According to the proposed SO 68, questions to the President would be taken on a Wednesday for 90 minutes.

To allow order in the procedure, a maximum of five supplementary questions on the original question would be allowed.

Other Parliaments like South Africa and England allow for questions to the President or Prime Minister but Malawi has not implemented the constitutional provision for many years. n

]]>http://mwnation.com/parliament-ignores-standing-orders/feed/1When policies fail, people sufferhttp://mwnation.com/policies-fail-people-suffer/
http://mwnation.com/policies-fail-people-suffer/#commentsSat, 24 Feb 2018 04:13:09 +0000http://mwnation.com/?p=229029For 33-year-old Rubbsky Mataya, when health workers at Mchinji District Hospital told him there was no medication to treat the stomach ulcers that had flared up and that he would have to buy pills at a private pharmacy, there was nothing shocking in the request. “When I come for treatment, sometimes I am asked to…

]]>For 33-year-old Rubbsky Mataya, when health workers at Mchinji District Hospital told him there was no medication to treat the stomach ulcers that had flared up and that he would have to buy pills at a private pharmacy, there was nothing shocking in the request.

“When I come for treatment, sometimes I am asked to buy my own medication. But I usually don’t buy the medicine because I don’t have money,” he says.

Nsanje District Hospital is one of the public hospitals running low on essential drugs

Mataya knows the cost of drugs for his ulcers, for asthma which frequently attacks him and he can remember that when he escorted his neighbour who had been bitten by a dog to the hospital in June last year, there was no anti-rabies vaccine.

“I know all the pharmacies between the hospital and where I live in Chimuti Village which is not far from another health centre, Kochilira. But at least the hospital has my medication most of the times I get an asthma or ulcers attack. The health centre rarely does,” he explains, while clutching packets of medicine.

A resident of Mchinji his whole life, Mataya cannot remember a time when there was ever an abundance of drugs and other supplies at the hospital or Kochilira which is 22 kilometres (km) from the district hospital.

As such, he cannot know the difference in terms of availability of drugs before 2015 and now, as far he is concerned things have not changed.

Mchinji District Hospital

2015 policy change

Mataya does not know that in 2015, the payment for drugs was centralised which in essence meant that the central hospitals and district hospitals would have budgets approved by Parliament but they were not allowed to make payments.

Mchinji District Hospital would know their budget but payments would be made by the Local Government Finance Committee (LGFC) while those of central hospitals by the Ministry of Health headquarters.

Once Parliament approves the health sector budget, the drug budgets for central hospitals and DHOs are given to Central Medical Stores Trust in advance.

The result is that as central hospitals and DHOs are ordering drugs and supplies from Central Medical Stores Trust (CMST), they do not know how much of their budget is left.

A study of Health Sector Efficiency in Malawi published in 2015 and authored by Cindy Carlson, Wiseman Chijere Chirwa and Nick Hall, with support from Diana Cammack, found that this system was not as perfect as it had been envisioned.

The study found that there was no communication from the central level to the cost centre about the cumulative drugs debts incurred against budgets, so cost centres did not know how much of the drug budget had been used.

With his budget of K2.2 billion for 2017/18, Kamuzu Central Hospital director Dr Jonathan Ngoma says patients do not know that this is not all for drugs: The funding is allocated to blood and supplies, gases and drugs and supplies purchased from CMST.

The catchment area for KCH is six million people considering that it caters for all Central Region district referrals while the renal unit and oncology department caters for patients from the North and Central regions.

Being a referral hospital, Ngoma explains, the hospital needs are unique because it has specialty departments such as renal, oncology, ear nose and throat as such treatment is no longer about drugs alone.

To give a picture of the inadequacy of the drug budget, Ngoma says: “Treating diabetes requires urine dip sticks and glucose testing kits not just medicine while for the ophthalmology unit to order implants to treat patients with retinal detachments it requires K275 million.

Instead, the government is having to send patients with retinal detachments abroad, when according to Ngoma, there is an ophthalmologist and equipment to carry out the surgery but no commodities like implants.

“There are so many things that our doctors can do but they are not able to because of resources such as equipment and consumables. The demand for drugs and services remains higher than the supply,” he added.

But the challenges causing unavailability of drugs are not about financial resources alone but a system which the hospital managers claim is not working as the policy makers had envisioned.

“Recently, we had no blood-giving sets at the hospital. It was not our problem. CMST fails to buy certain medical supplies which are very affordable. They are available on the market but due to procurement rigidity, the hospital went without these for a long time. Why should procuring blood-giving sets be a challenge for something that costs K300 each?” Ngoma wonders.

Local supplies

The health sector inefficiency study found that until 2013/14, cost centres like KCH and Mchinji District Hospital could buy from private suppliers those drugs which CMST confirmed were not in stock.

But the result of that was overspending and they incurred arrears that went into billions which the government is struggling to pay back to date.

Mchinji district health officer Dr Juliana Kanyengambeta says much as the decision was justified, the current system is also not working and it is the 18 health facilities with a K269 million budget under her care that suffer.

As of December 2016, Mchinji had a population of 610 781, of which 30 539 were under 12 months and 195 450 were hard to reach.

At the top of the disease burden for Mchinji are malaria, diarrhoeal diseases and pneumonia, mostly affecting children under five years old.

“The budgets that are prepared centrally are not realistic. What the health facilities consume is far more than what is funded. As a DHO we have to prepare for rainy season diseases like cholera and malaria but these will not be supplied at the time that they are needed,” the DHO says.

Kanyengambeta remembers that in 2016/17, the district hospital went into a dispensary exchange with Christian Health Association of Malawi (Cham) facilities in the district because “sometimes CMST does not have certain products”.

Her plea is that the DHO would be buying the drugs and supplies from CMST, but the central government should consider giving a fraction of the budget to the hospitals to purchase relatively cheap commodities.

“The impact of DHOs not being in control of their own budgets is very negative, not just for the health facilities but the patients as well. When CMST does not have some of the commodities but we cannot buy because we have no money, as a manager, I feel helpless,” Kanyengambeta said.

She discloses that for two months this year, the DHO had no blood-giving sets but they could not buy from private traders in the district.

Apart from having no control over the budget to buy needed supplies, the DHOs have no say on the quality of products which reach them.

“We have IV [intravenous] giving sets which leak. Since we cannot send them back, we just use plaster to seal the leaks and life goes on. It is disheartening that I am at work but I do not have the materials to do my work,” she says.

“Last financial year, the DHOs created arrears but not central hospitals because CMST does not have most of the drugs that we needed. Hospitals are run by high grade individuals capable of handling the drug budget,” he says.

Frustrated and helpless

Ngoma has every reason to be frustrated. In the 2016/17 financial year, KCH spent 103 percent of the drug budget but only 40 percent of what was needed was supplied.

If KCH was to be supplied close to 60 percent, the drug budget alone would go up to K5 billion by Ngoma’s calculations.

The study of Health Sector Efficiency found that there was a disconnect between cost centre planning processes and central budget allocation and spending processes and cost centre managers do not feel they ‘own’ the final approved budget due to the fact that the key aspects of the health budget that could have been linked to planning at the district council level in the case of DHOs and ministry.

“Particularly at districts, there is no budget control at the cost centre level of the largest budget line—drugs—so cost centre managers may be over-or-under-spending and do not track the ‘burn rate’ for drugs,” the report reads in part.

For a mother of five Maria Chiku of Thepeya Village in Traditional Authority Malemia in Nsanje, buying drugs at a pharmacy is not strange.

Although she lives close to Chididi Health Centre, a mission hospital in the area, she prefers Nsanje District Hospital hoping to receive free medication and on many occasions she leaves the facility disappointed.

“At the health centre, we sometimes pay K2 500 for services, only giving birth and children illnesses are free. But compared to the hospital here at the boma, they always have medicines but it is always cheaper to travel here,” she says.

An expectant Grace Kachikuwo from Kamwendo Village, T/A Mbenje in the district concurs that she gets the best care at the hospital even though she has to pay for drugs at a private pharmacy.

“I was once admitted to the hospital for malaria while pregnant, I was given enough drugs. But I came with my husband and children for other conditions we were just given panado and asked to buy some antibiotics at the pharmacy,” she said.

But having monitored the policy for several years, Malawi Health Equity Network (Mhen) is of the view that reversing the policy would require a lot of care and systems strengthening because the abuse of the drug budget in the past was a fact.

“The policy has made contributions towards drug shortages in our public hospitals. The DHOs and central hospital directors do not have control over procurements and what should be stocked,” George Jobe, Mhen executive director says.

He says that buying directly from elsewhere by the public hospitals is not the best solution as this would leave too much room for drug theft and corruption.

“The way to resolve this is for CMST to be adequately funded to stock enough drugs and medical supplies and where necessary allow CMST to buy locally on behalf of hospitals if they have run short of drugs. Malawians should not suffer drug shortages when funds are available,” says Jobe.

In its work, Mhen has received reports, especially from central hospitals, where they order drugs but CMST does not have such drugs in stock. On the other hand, the policy limits public hospitals in terms of where they can buy drugs and medical supplies.

Knowing full well its shortcomings, CMST believes the only way it can perform its functions to the maximum is through recapitalisation so that it has money to buy the drugs and medical supplies in advance.

CMST says the advance quarterly funding model approved in 2015 was to enable them to have enough financial resources to order drugs and supplies as one way of reducing delays in medicines supply to health facilities.

At the annual review meeting in November last year, CMST bemoaned that since its establishment, annual budgets have been much lower than respective quantifications.

While the budget has continued to rise, by 10 percent from 2017 to 2018, the CMST quantification put the requirement at K35 billion this year but they have K17 billion in the kitty.

“CMST finalised the quantification for 2017/2018 financial year and the requirements were estimated at K35 billion against a K18 billion budget allocation. Districts are likely to run out of funds before the end of the financial year,” a presentation to CMST stakeholders made this conclusion.

This coupled with a K12 billion outstanding debt, it is the patients who frequent the country’s public hospitals that will suffer.

Unfortunately, for people like Mataya, nothing much will change anytime soon. n

]]>http://mwnation.com/policies-fail-people-suffer/feed/12019 will just be another electionhttp://mwnation.com/2019-will-just-another-election/
http://mwnation.com/2019-will-just-another-election/#respondFri, 23 Feb 2018 21:00:25 +0000http://mwnation.com/?p=229022The Malawi Electoral Commission (MEC) launched the calendar for the 2019 Tripartite Elections this week with outstanding issues that will render the polls just another democratic exercise lacking credibility. Electoral observers made a litany of recommendations after 2014 among them changes to the electoral laws. But now we know how that ended: The government which…

]]>The Malawi Electoral Commission (MEC) launched the calendar for the 2019 Tripartite Elections this week with outstanding issues that will render the polls just another democratic exercise lacking credibility.

Electoral observers made a litany of recommendations after 2014 among them changes to the electoral laws. But now we know how that ended: The government which benefitted from the disorganised electoral system and legal framework decided to leave things alone.

By now people would have been preparing for a 50+1 voting system and excitement would have been palpable that finally a president elected with the majority of Malawians will govern with confidence.

The European Union (EU) electoral observer mission pointed to voter registration, election day preparations and results management, as well as malpractices during the campaign, including abuse of State resources as the main challenges in the conduct of the polls in 2014.

It is 2018 and little has been done to change the status quo, a hapless Parliament failed to heed the calls of the majority of Malawians who contributed to the Law Commission report.

In 2018, opposition parties should not be moaning about the despicable behaviour of Malawi Broadcasting Corporation (MBC). Where were they when the Communications Act was being tabled? What did they use the opportunity to engage with Malawi Communications Regulatory Authority (Macra) for? Where is the Committee on Statutory Corporations and Commissions in all this?

Parliament has spent the past four years making empty threats against MBC with little action, the results of such dilly-dallying is the kind of programmes that are on the radio and television right now.

If Malawi Congress Party (MCP) were to win the 2019 elections, the lukewarm manner in which they have treated MBC is an indication that they would not make any effort to turn the State broadcaster into the public broadcaster that it should be.

Having elected a meagre 17 percent of women into Parliament in 2014, the 50-50 movement should have started on the day the results of the elections were announced.

But when the incumbent 32 members of Parliament (MPs) are the first to fear competition from women aspirants, should we expect to do better than 257 female candidates out of 1 292 as it was in 2014?

Where were the voices of the political parties when the Special Law Commission proposed an additional 28 district seats specifically for women? Where was the 50-50 movement the past four years?

Parliament last year passed what should be an elaborate and comprehensive Political Parties Bill which has since been gazetted but after so many years of inserting and deleting provisions in it, 2017 was just too close to 2019 for the law to make any meaningful impact.

In 2019, voters should expect another long convoluted ballot paper with candidates simply trying their luck, if the Political Parties Act does not come into effect to sieve the chaff.

Even as the law currently stands, new political parties are sprouting up all over the place and the same MPs who enacted a law banning handouts are at this very moment in the frontline giving out the same to keep their seats.

The Electoral Commission (amendment) Bill currently before Parliament should have breathed new life into the conduct of the commission during elections but with 15 months to elections, there is no agreement on who should appoint commissioners, the executive or the political parties.

The only breath of fresh air in the 2019 will the biometric voter registration which is anticipated to reduce the cost of the polls, no hiring cameras or lamps from Zimbabwe.

Without these, the 2019 Tripartite Election promise to be just another democratic activity that Malawians will have ticked off in this dispensation. n

]]>http://mwnation.com/2019-will-just-another-election/feed/0Report faults Nsanje dyke consultanthttp://mwnation.com/report-faults-nsanje-dyke-consultant/
http://mwnation.com/report-faults-nsanje-dyke-consultant/#commentsFri, 23 Feb 2018 07:38:36 +0000http://mwnation.com/?p=228917 An investigation by the National Construction Industry Council (NCIC) into the K288 million dyke constructed in Nsanje has faulted the consultant who withdrew the engineer from the site before the final phase was completed. The substandard works on the 823 metre dyke were noted when Vice-President Saulos Chilima, as minister responsible for Disaster Management…

An investigation by the National Construction Industry Council (NCIC) into the K288 million dyke constructed in Nsanje has faulted the consultant who withdrew the engineer from the site before the final phase was completed.

The substandard works on the 823 metre dyke were noted when Vice-President Saulos Chilima, as minister responsible for Disaster Management Affairs, two weeks ago visited the site and expressed dissatisfaction with the quality of the works.

Chilima (L) during the tour of the dyke

Chilima, as champion of the Construction Sector Transparency Initiative (CoST), asked NCIC to investigate the circumstances surrounding the construction of the dyke being managed by the Shire River Basin Management Programme which is under Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation and Water Development.

The consulting engineer and supervisor was BRL Ingenierie/Aurecon while Mitondo Civil Engineering were contracted to complete civil works on the dyke.

The report to Chilima, which The Nation has seen, indicates that the consultant is not registered and lack of supervision led to the use of soil instead of gravel to finish off the works.

NCIC has recommended an assurance study on how the contracts were awarded because they were surprised that Shire River Basin Management Programme engaged an unregistered consultant when they were aware of requirements for design and construction of infrastructure projects.

In the report dated February 12 2018 signed by the executive director Linda Phiri, NCIC notes that while the dyke was done to the specifications of the consultant, there was no supervision and this attributed to poor workmanship.

“The consultant’s engineer claims he has been supervising the site on fulltime basis and issued instructions on how to progress with the final phase. However, if the consultant’s claims are true, how could he allow the constructor to proceed using top soil instead of the recommended gravel?” the report findings read.

NCIC also found that BRL Ingenierie was not registered as a consultant in the construction industry and were operating illegally.

However, NCIC said the dyke was operational and had warded off flash floods since it was constructed.

NCIC gave the contractor Mitondo, 10 days to explain why disciplinary action should not be taken against them while BRL Ingeniere was given 10 days to process the registration with the council.

After the investigation, NCIC issued an order to Shire River Basin Management Programme stopping all construction works on the site until a registered consultant could provide supervision.

A letter to the Shire River Basin Management Programme project coordinator dated February 12 indicates that the stop order would be lifted upon submission of satisfactory evidence of registration.

The programme’s communications specialist Horace Nyaka said the consultant had since submitted application documents to NCIC and a supporting letter would follow.

Efforts to seek information on whether the contractor had responded to the findings of the report were not successful as the NCIC executive director did not pick calls after repeated attempts. n

]]>http://mwnation.com/report-faults-nsanje-dyke-consultant/feed/1MCP seeks answers on MSB sale proceedshttp://mwnation.com/mcp-seeks-answers-msb-sale-proceeds/
http://mwnation.com/mcp-seeks-answers-msb-sale-proceeds/#respondWed, 21 Feb 2018 08:49:33 +0000http://mwnation.com/?p=228725 Malawi Congress Party (MCP) has revived debate on the Malawi Savings Bank (MSB) sale to FDH Bank by demanding to know the whereabouts of K9 billion proceeds from the transaction. Government sold MSB in 2015 after it failed to meet regulatory requirements to capitalise the entity as recommended by Reserve Bank of Malawi. In…

Malawi Congress Party (MCP) has revived debate on the Malawi Savings Bank (MSB) sale to FDH Bank by demanding to know the whereabouts of K9 billion proceeds from the transaction.

Government sold MSB in 2015 after it failed to meet regulatory requirements to capitalise the entity as recommended by Reserve Bank of Malawi.

In his response to the Mid-Year Budget Statement on Monday, MCP spokesperson on finance Alexander Kusamba Dzonzi alleged that Minister of Finance, Economic Planning and Development and the ruling elite colluded to benefit from the sale.

Kusamba Dzonzi: Malawians should know

Justifying his allegation, he said some people within the ruling elite failed to repay loans to MSB, resulting in its failure to meet requirements.

“The ministers of Justice and Finance are on record having told the National Assembly that the MSB toxic loans the government settled on behalf of the DPP [Democratic Progressive Party] elites will be collected, but up to now, no single tambala has been collected. Malawians today don’t even know where the proceeds of the sale amounting to K9.9 billion are being kept and for what,” Kusamba Dzonzi said.

“The ministers of Finance and Justice must come out clearly and tell [Malawians] where their money is being kept. Malawians must know that had these monies been available, the University of Malawi would have subsidised the school fees for our children to continue their studies uninterrupted.”

There was no response from the government side to the allegations but the Minister of Finance Goodall Gondwe is expected to wind up debate on Friday where he will address the concerns from the debate on his statement and budget revision. n